Modern passenger cars have a number of SRS devices (Safety Restraint Systems) such as airbags and seat belt pretensioner. Deceleration sensors in the passenger vehicle detect high deceleration values as they occur in case of an accident and send a trigger signal via a wire or cable to the SRS devices. Then, for instance, airbags are inflated by means of an explosive device known as a squib. The wires or cables from the deceleration sensor are connected to the squib by means of a so-called squib connector. To this aim the squib is usually provided with a socket which contains two contact pins. The squib connector comprises a plug part corresponding to the socket, which plug part has two terminal cavities for the insertion of the contact pins of the squib socket. To improve the connection between squib and squib connector airbag retainer inserts were developed, which are adapted to fit into the receptacle of standardized airbag squibs and which facilitate and secure the connection between squib and squib connector. These retainer inserts are commonly provided with some kind of shorting clip, which short-circuits the contact pins of the airbag squib before a squib connector is connected to the squib and which retainer insert further provides mechanical fastening means for a secure mechanical connection of squib connector and squib receptacle. The retainer inserts are sometimes also referred to as shorting inserts.
The EP 1 401 063A1 describes a construction comprising a retainer insert having a shorting clip mounted thereto. The shorting clip is provided with two contact tongues to short-circuit the contact pins of an airbag squib, which contact tongues are connected by means of a common portion, which is provided with two apertures for the reception of the contact pins. The portion of the clip connecting the functional elements of the clip is arranged between the base of the retainer insert and the bottom of the squib receptacle. The base of the retainer insert is provided with corresponding cut outs such that the common portion of the shorting clip is essentially flush with the base of the retainer insert. However, this construction necessitates that the retainer has to be specifically shaped to accommodate the shorting clip and that therefore the shorting clip cannot be used with standardized retainer inserts.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a shorting clip for an airbag ignition system as well as a shorting system comprising a retainer insert and a shorting clip, which reduces or minimizes problems and disadvantages of the above prior art. It is in particular an object of the present invention to provide a shorting clip, which can be used with standardized airbag retainer inserts, without the necessity to change the design of the standardized retainer insert. It is a further object of the invention to provide a shorting clip adapted to be mounted to an airbag retainer insert, which reduces the installation height of an airbag retainer insert provided with the clip and which is of a more flexible construction to reduce the necessity for tight production tolerances. It is a further object of the invention to provide a shorting clip, which provides a shorting function for the pins of an airbag squib and which is adapted to provide at the same time a full grounding contact between the squib connector and the housing of the airbag squib, e.g. the receptacle of an airbag squib.
These and other objects, which become apparent upon reading the following description, are at least partly solved by a shorting clip according to claim 1 and a shorting system according to claim 9.